Reminds me of the story in the news a few months back where a little girl was bringing her new pet turtle on a plane and everyone said it was ok, but the stewardess said no and placed the little turtle in a trash bin in the airport!
Luckily, one of the airport employees rescued the little turtle and brought it home to his own little boy. When the father of the little girl went back to the airport looking for the turtle, the airport employee gave it back and the dad of the little girl was so touched that he bought the boy two new turtles that were the same species.
In the end some human/animal rights attorney picked up the case and made a HUGE fuss about it.
Because... you know... 2 inch long turtles are definitely a flight safety hazard on domestic flights...